detrop wrote:To me, terms like "stream of consciousness" ... "storage of impressions" ... "stream of kamma" ... "dying and being born every single moment" raise much more questions than they possibly answer. Their accessibility in real life is not better than that of the good old permanent Self - both can be assumed all day long, but none of them can be actually found by someone like me.

well according to the dhamma one can master the jhanas and literally see ones past lives. however this is a side track. in reality one does not need to know anything about rebirth at all. one can simply practice the dhamma, see through reality bit by bit and eventually enter nibbana never knowing a thing about rebirth being real or not.

cooran wrote:One of the things to be aware of is that Rebirth as a human is one of the rarest occurrences of all.

Very interesting, can anyone expand more on this? What is in the Buddhism teaching, or rather Buddhism cosmological view that fits earth? Is reborn on earth as a human rare because there are so many realms that if one end up on earth as human... or end up as any sentient being on any realm is rare simply by the probability itself?

Or that somehow that being a Human on Earth is in someway special by itself because our realm is somewhat special in the whole cosmological order?

Hi everyone. I've just been reading a sutta that deals with this exact question. please check out Ven Thanissaro's version here :http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.038.than.html. I ran into this sutta in a book called 'the Raft' compiled by the late Mom Chao Upalisan Jumbala. All dhamma talks I've listened to so far describe consciousness as the 'thing' or process that continues, but the Buddha rebukes the monk who holds this view. I highly recommend giving this a read. Can any monastics weigh in on this?

ThanksDhammafriend

MettaDhammafriend

Natthi me saranam annam buddho me saranam varamFor me there is no other refuge, the Buddha is my excellent refuge.Etena saccavajjena vaddheyyam satthu-sasaneBy the utterance of this truth, may I grow in the Master’s Way.

cooran wrote:One of the things to be aware of is that Rebirth as a human is one of the rarest occurrences of all.

Very interesting, can anyone expand more on this? What is in the Buddhism teaching, or rather Buddhism cosmological view that fits earth? Is reborn on earth as a human rare because there are so many realms that if one end up on earth as human... or end up as any sentient being on any realm is rare simply by the probability itself?

Or that somehow that being a Human on Earth is in someway special by itself because our realm is somewhat special in the whole cosmological order?

human birth is rare because most beings do not follow the dhamma at all or well enough so they end up in lower realms after death and are reborn in other lower realms or the same realms for the same reasons or similar reasons at the end of each life until they do good things and are born as humans or higher again.

it is a logical system of checks and balances. no probability or randomness at all. a beings actions and thoughts determine where they go and it is very specific.

to clarify, i said "follow the dhamma" which may not be clear. even someone who has never heard of the dhamma but acts in accord with it anyway (no killing, stealing, etc.) will be reborn in a favorable destination. for example a non buddhist but very kind and generous fire fighter or doctor would probably end up in the deva realms after death. this is not satisfactory though as their time as a deva will run out and then it's back on down to lower realms whereas a serious dhamma practitioner who is kind and generous fire fighter or doctor (these are just examples of jobs that likely generate a ton of good kamma) would likely be reborn in a human body with strong inclination toward the dhamma and a good lot in life that would hopefully get them to stream entry at least or if they mastered certain attainments they would be reborn in the pure abodes and reach nibbana there without ever being reborn again (as i understand it, i could be wrong. compare these ideas with the suttas to be certain!!!).